Department for Transport

Bus Service Operators Grant

lord bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place to prevent local authorities reducing support to bus operators following receipt of a Bus Operators’ Grant.

baroness sugg: Since 2014, the Department for Transport has paid around £43m of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) per year directly to local authorities. This element of BSOG relates to services which local authorities procure directly because they would not otherwise be commercially viable. Between April 2014 and March 2018, this funding was ring-fenced so that authorities must spend it on bus services. The Department will set out its plans for this year’s funding alongside issuing the grant to local authorities.

British Transport Police: Finance

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether theBritish Transport Police are able to access additional funding to pay for a portion of the costs of policing transport for big events such as football matches, when local police services are able to claim such funding.

baroness sugg: The British Transport Police (BTP) is funded by a specific funding regime distinct from those of local police services. Under this model, the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) sets the BTP’s core policing budget, which is then charged to rail operators through Police Service Agreements. The cost of policing large events such as football matches is covered by core funding. Further funding may be provided through enhanced policing agreements between the BTPA and train operators, including from Transport for London for policing of the London Underground.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Carillion: Insolvency

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the governance and collapse of Carillion will be considered by the Financial Reporting Council as part of their review of the UK Corporate Governance Code; and when that review will be published.

lord henley: The Financial Reporting Council plan to publish a revised Corporate Governance Code in July 2018. The revised Code will take into account responses to its public consultation, which closed in February 2018, and developments relating to the collapse of Carillion to the extent appropriate while investigations and inquiries into Carillion are ongoing.

Carillion: Insolvency

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in light of Carillion’s claim in its 2016 Annual Report that in the event of extreme downside scenarios the Company “will be able to continue in operation” for a three year period, whether they plan to take steps to improve the accuracy of annual reporting and accountability for inaccurate company reporting.

lord henley: The Financial Reporting Council is currently conducting an investigation into the preparation and approval of Carillion’s financial statements, as well as an investigation into KPMG’s audit of Carillion. The Government will consider any subsequent action that needs to be taken once those inquiries have reached their conclusion.

Directors: Performance Appraisal

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the framework for the regulation of corporate advisory firms undertaking board performance evaluations; and what assesment they have made of the effectiveness of that regulation.

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in light of Carillion’s claim in its2016 Annual Reportthat the Board and Committee performance evaluation conducted by Linstock Limited “confirmed that the Board, each of its Committees and the Directors continue to be highly effective”, whether they plan to take steps to improve (1) the effectiveness and accountability of board performance evaluations and (2) regulation of firms undertaking those evaluations.

lord henley: The Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) Corporate Governance Code sets out that company directors must ensure that an evaluation of the effectiveness of the board is carried out at least every 3 years, which in turn is reported to the shareholders of the companies. The FRC’s recent consultation on the UK Corporate Governance Code included proposals to improve reporting and practice in this area. These included strengthened principles and provisions about board effectiveness and individual director responsibilities. The FRC expect to publish a revised Corporate Governance Code in July 2018.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sudan: Chemical Weapons

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what grounds they decided to take no action against Sudan following Amnesty International’s report of the use of chemical weapons in Jebel Marra.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The British Government, alongside other states, encouraged the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to look into the serious allegations made by Amnesty International in October 2016. The OPCW asked the Government of Sudan, as a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, to share all relevant information and offered its assistance in any investigation. The Sudanese authorities reported to the OPCW that their national investigations found no evidence of chemical weapon use in the Jebel Marra region. We had discussions with Amnesty representatives following their report and encouraged them to engage with the OPCW directly.

Arms Trade Treaty

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that countriesthat have signed but not ratified the 2014 Arms Trade Treaty comply fully with end-user certificate requirements in international arms sales.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​As one of the original signatories, the UK is a strong advocate of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Her Majesty's Government actively and regularly encourages non-members to ratify or accede to the Treaty, and its member states to implement its provisions fully.

Egypt: Torture

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have raised concernswith the government of Egypt over the use of torture by security officials in Egypt.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​We are concerned about reports of torture and mistreatment in detention in Egypt, and continue to raise these issues with the Egyptian authorities. We have raised our concerns in public, through the UN Human Rights Council and through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Human Rights Priority Country reports. We have also raise our concerns in private, in meetings with Egyptian officials in London and Cairo. Our Ambassador in Cairo last raised human rights concerns with the Egyptian authorities on 18 April. The UK wants to see increased political progress and better protection of human rights in Egypt, including implementation of the rights guaranteed by Egypt's constitution.

Syria: Politics and Government

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their long-term objectives for Syria.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK's objectives in Syria are to secure the enduring defeat of Daesh and to encourage a negotiated political settlement that ends the conflict and protects the rights of all Syrians and lays the ground for a peaceful, stable Syria.

EU Common Foreign and Security Policy

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for UK representations in European foreign affairs decisions after Brexit.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: On leaving the EU, the UK will pursue an independent foreign policy. We expect of course to continue to consult regularly with the EU and its member states, as with other major foreign policy players around the world.

Russia: Chemical Weapons

lord stoddart of swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 10 April (HL6659), whether there is provision in the Chemical Weapons Convention to report incidents of illegal production or storage of banned chemical weapons; and if so, why did they not report their knowledge of Russian production and storage of Novichok.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Under the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention, it is open to states to raise concerns related to compliance with the Convention. These may take the form of direct consultations, including bilaterally, procedures involving the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) or procedures within the framework of the United Nations. As our Permanent Representative to the OPCW briefed the Executive Council of the OPCW in The Hague on 18 April, https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/opcw-executive-council-meeting-18-april-update-on-the-use-of-a-nerve-agent-in-salisbury, in 2000, under the umbrella of Article IX of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the UK asked a number of questions of Russia bilaterally, with a view to clarifying issues relating to its CWC declarations. The UK specifically asked Russia about the development of Novichok agents and whether Russia planned to include relevant information in its declarations to the OPCW. The Russian reply indicated Russia believed there was no information which was required to be declared.The US has similarly approached Russia bilaterally on compliance issues on a number of occasions in 2002, 2003 and 2006, and have made clear in their 2018 Report to their Congress on Adherence to and Compliance With Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments https://www.state.gov/t/avc/rls/rpt/2018/280532.htm that “the United States does not believe Russia has declared all of its CW stockpile, all CWPFs [chemical weapons production facilities], and all of its CW development facilities” and that “the Russian Federation is in non-compliance with its obligations under the CWC”.



US State Dept 2018 Report to Congress
(PDF Document, 251.52 KB)




OPCW Executive Council Speeches
(PDF Document, 1.44 MB)

Bahrain: Technical Assistance

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government which companies, bodies or individuals were given contracts to deliver any part of the technical assistance programme for Bahrain in the 2017–18 financial year.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government works with a number of implementation partners to support Bahraini-led reform. These programmes aim to support progress on building effective and accountable institutions, strengthening the rule of law, and justice reform. All of our work is in line with international standards, and aims to share the UK's expertise and experience. Any training provided by, on or behalf of, the Government fully complies with our domestic and international human rights obligations.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Origin Marking

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have reached an agreement with the EU to ensure that after leaving the EU the UK will continue to enjoy its current protections under the EU's protected designation of origin, protected geographical indication, and traditional specialities guaranteed schemes; and if so, what are the terms of that agreement.

lord callanan: The Government recognises the value to UK business of these protections under the relevant EU schemes. The EU has proposed text on these issues in the draft Withdrawal Agreement. Negotiations with the EU are ongoing and as we have said before we will not be providing a running commentary on negotiations.

Department for International Development

UNRWA: Finance

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to help prevent UNWRA running out of funds later this year.

lord bates: The UK is unequivocally committed to supporting Palestinian refugees across the region. Over the course of the 2017/18 financial year, the UK provided around £50 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), assisting in their provision of essential services including basic education to around 500,000 children, health services for around 3 million Palestinian refugees and supporting Palestinian refugees from Syria. The UK will deliver its next round of financial support earlier than originally planned, to help meet the growing needs of Palestinian refugees across the region. We are also working with the international community and UNRWA to explore how best to ensure the continuity of essential services to Palestinian refugees at this time.

Gaza: Medical Equipment

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the lack of medical and surgical equipment in Gaza.

lord bates: According to the World Health Organisation, in February 2018 a total of 42% of the 516 essential drugs were completely depleted. This includes drugs used in emergency departments and other critical units. Out of the 853 essential disposables, which include surgical equipment, 23% were completely depleted. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs the health sector is being further strained by the recent deaths and injuries suffered during protests in Gaza.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Peers

lord steel of aikwood: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many members of the House have (1) retired or otherwise resigned, and (2) ceased to be a member of the House as a result of non-attendance or conviction of a serious offence, since the passing of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.

lord mcfall of alcluith: Since the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 came into force, 81 members of the House have retired and six have ceased to be a member as a result of non-attendance.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Construction

lord borwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full-time planning officers they estimate will be required to deliver their target of building an average 300,000 new homes in England per year; and how many are actually employed at present.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The department does not hold data on the number of planning officers who are currently employed, on either full-time or part-time bases. It therefore has no reliable evidence base from which to estimate the extra number needed for building an average of 300,000 homes in England per year.The department has supported local planning authorities by introducing a 20 per cent increase in planning application fees and providing £ 15.8 million through the Planning Delivery Fund in order to ensure that local planning authorities have the resources and capacity they need.It also provides support for the Royal Town Planning Institute Future Planners bursary scheme, which has run since 2015/16 and supports students on accredited postgraduate conversion degrees to pursue a career in planning. The department recently announced its continuing financial support for the scheme over the next three financial years, 2017/18 to 2019/20.

Ministry of Defence

Air Force: Military Bases

lord campbell of pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government what ground-based air defence systems there are at RAF military airfields.

earl howe: A Short Range Air Defence capability is currently deployed at Mount Pleasant Airfield in the Falkland Islands.

Department for Work and Pensions

Refugees

the lord bishop of durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what training is being provided to Job Centre Plus staff to assist refugees duringthe twenty eight day move-on period.

baroness buscombe: All DWP staff have access to operational instructions that explains DWP support available to refugees, including the 28 day move on process. During rollout of the supported handover, between Home Office and DWP (for refugees requiring help in making a DWP benefit claim), further communications, including a memo, were issued to improve awareness of the process and alert staff of the instructions to follow. As part of our continuous improvement activity we are considering what future products may be required to support refugees.

Employment

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they reconcile figures from the Office for National Statistics, in its UK labour market: April 2018 bulletin, showing that the employment rate is “the highest since comparable records began in 1971”, with statistics published by the Trussell Trust showing increasing demand for the services provided by food banks over the last two years.

baroness buscombe: Work offers people the best opportunity to get out of poverty and to become self-reliant; adults in working families are around 4 times less likely to be in poverty than those in workless families. This is why we are undertaking the most ambitious reform to the welfare system in decades - so that it supports people to find and to stay in work. People use food banks for many and varied reasons and, while there are no official statistics on food bank usage, recent data from the Trussell Trust shows that the majority of users are out of work.As a safeguard for people needing more support, we have a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans. Universal Credit has introduced a further package of measures announced at the Autumn Budget 2017, such as making advances of up to 100 per cent of the indicative award available and increasing the repayment period to 12 months, removing the 7 waiting days, providing an additional payment of 2 weeks of Housing Benefit to support claimants when they transition to UC, and changing how claimants in temporary accommodation receive support for their housing costs.

Food Banks

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last met with food bank organisers; what was the outcome of that meeting; and whether they plan to hold further such meetings.

baroness buscombe: DWP meets regularly with key stakeholders including the Trussell Trust, which operates a network of over 425 food banks in the UK. Jobcentre Plus district managers have discretion to work with food banks in their area if they are invited to do so, as part of their wider community outreach work.

Children: Maintenance

lord stevenson of balmacara: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Child Maintenance Service is currently able to request the provision of P60s to enable calculations of child maintenance to be made; if so, to what extent such powers are used; and if not, whether they plan to allow for the request of P60s in future.

baroness buscombe: The calculation of child maintenance is based upon gross income information from the most recent tax year provided directly to the DWP by HMRC. Every year the calculation is updated as new income information is reported to HMRC. A P60 shows income reported to HMRC at the end of the tax year and so would contain this same information. For this reason it is not necessary to use P60s as evidence when calculating maintenance.

Home Office

Madeleine McCann

lord black of brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 21 December 2017 (HL4308), whether any request was made by the Metropolitan Police Service to extend the funding for Operation Grange beyond the end of March 2018; and if so, by how much, and over what period.

baroness williams of trafford: An application from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) for further Special Grant funding for Operation Grange for 01 April – 30 September 2018 has been received. This is for an amount similar to the £154,000 granted for the period of 01 October 2017 – 31 March 2018. The MPS has been briefed that its latest application will be granted.

Police and Crime Commissioners

lord laming: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 17 April (HL Deb, col 1070) concerning Operation Conifer, whether they have any responsibilities relating to the performance of police and crime commissioners; if so, what those responsibilities are; and if not, to whom police and crime commissioners are accountable.

baroness williams of trafford: Directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are accountable to the public via the ballot box for ensuring the policing needs of local communities are met effectively. Police and Crime Panels have the appropriate powers, agreed by Parliament, to scrutinise the actions and decisions of PCCs and enable the public to hold them to account.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting: Security

lord bowness: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of security and policing for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

lord bowness: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether private contractors provided personnel to augment the number of Metropolitan Police Service officers policing the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting; and if so, how much was paid for those services.

baroness williams of trafford: In line with previous international summits, costs will be published in due course. No private contractors were employed to carry out functions that are the role and responsibility of the police.

Asylum: Finance

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the increase in February of the standard allowance for asylum seekers from £36.95 a week to £37.75 a week is sufficient to meet living costs.

baroness williams of trafford: The assessment is set out in a report published in March 2018, the report outlines the standard allowances for asylum seekers and for convienance the report is attached and can also be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers.



Report on Review of cash allowance-asylum 2017
(PDF Document, 856.43 KB)

Police: Firearms

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 19 April (HL6898), why it is not possible to give even an approximate timetable for the review into the legal position of police firearms officers and an indication of whetherthat review will be published.

baroness williams of trafford: The review of the legal and procedural framework governing the police use of firearms will take account of relevant ongoing work including the new College of Policing post-incident guidelines for all death and serious injury cases.The review is ongoing, further details will be available when it has concluded.

Joint Maritime Operations Coordination Centre

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government which individuals may be held to account in the Joint Maritime Operations CoordinationCentre if assets are not allocated to the highest priority incident.

baroness williams of trafford: The JMOCC has a number of cross-Government partners each with their own priorities, each of whom retain command and control of their various assets. The role of the JMOOCC is to respond to tasking requests, facilitate a discussion with all agencies to agree relative priorities and capability allocation. Each partner organisation owns the risk and decision on whether their capabilities are allocated.

Witnesses

lord morris of aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance has been given in the last ten years by the College of Policing to police authorities about believing witnesses; whether there have been any proposals to change that guidance in that period; and if so, what.

baroness williams of trafford: The College of Policing has not issued guidance to the police in respect of believing witnesses since its formation in 2012.The College of Policing is currently considering the outcome of a review into the terminology used to guide police when an allegation of crime is made. The review can be found online here: http://www.college.police.uk/News/College-news/Pages/review-into-believing-victims-at-the-time-of-reporting.aspx



Copy - Review: Terminology guide allegation crime 
(PDF Document, 361.32 KB)

Deportation

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to consult on what should be a reasonable length of continuous residence in the UK, after which deportation cannot take place.

baroness williams of trafford: Deportation proceedings are initiated where a person is not a British citizen and their presence is considered to be non-conducive to the public good, usually because they are foreign criminals; or the Secretary of State has ordered another person to whose family they belong to be deported; or where a court has recommended deportation. Section 7(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 states that it is not lawful to deport Commonwealth or Irish citizens who were ordinarily resident in the UK for the commencement of the Act in January 1973 and ordinarily resident in the UK for at least five years before the decision to make a deportation order. For non-EEA nationals, section 32(2) of the UK Borders Act 2007 sets out automatic deportation provisions relevant to those sentenced to a period of imprisonment of at least 12 months. Section 33 of the UK Borders Act sets out exceptions to automatic deportation, which include human rights considerations, such as an individual’s right to private and family life (Article 8 of the human rights convention). In addition, the exception in section 7(1) of the 1971 Act applies in such cases. Section 19 of the Immigration Act 2014 sets out the approach to considering Article 8 claims in deportation cases, which takes account of a person’s length of residence and cultural integration into the UK. It makes clear that in general the deportation of foreign criminals is in the public interest. EEA nationals are deported in accordance with EU law on the grounds of public policy or public security. We will take all circumstances into account when considering whether deportation is appropriate, including factors such as length of residence, ties to the UK, and level of criminality. Due to the case-by-case nature of this consideration, it would not be appropriate to set a fixed length of continuous residence after which deportation cannot take place.

Cabinet Office

Honours

baroness miller of chilthorne domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of UK national honours have been awarded to people working in the area of wildlife and the environment in each of the last five years.

lord young of cookham: Data on honours awarded is not collated under the specific sector headings in this way.

Women and Equalities

Gender Recognition

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce a self-declared gender recognition process to de-medicalisegender dysphoria as a mental health condition.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government Equalities Office is currently preparing the consultation on reform of the Gender Recognition Act, which will be published in due course. The responses to this consultation will be taken into account before deciding how to best reform the Gender Recognition Act 2004.   Under the current Gender Recognition Act, trans people can change their legal gender by submitting a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, alongside other documentation including a second report from a medical professional, proof of having lived for at least two years in their acquired gender, and a statutory declaration that they intend to live in the acquired gender until death.We are currently considering options for how we might we reform the current system, including examining how we could de-medicalise the legal process for changing gender.The Gender Recognition Act does not, and will not, regulate the status of gender dysphoria as a mental health condition, as listed in medical handbooks. However, we are very clear that we do not consider being transgender to be a mental illness.